


The Missing Piece

by v1ewmonster



Category: Mother 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Confusion, Denial of Feelings, M/M, Memory Alteration, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Visions, at least not entirely?, claus is very irritable djfgjhj
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:14:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22616977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v1ewmonster/pseuds/v1ewmonster
Summary: After getting revived, Claus hasn’t been the same since. The sensation of death forever lingers inside his heart and the anger regarding his mother’s death has not yet subsided, whether he’s conscious of it or not. His mother is still alive, everything isokay,but… he’s not. and neither is Lucas, who seems to be missing. He’s not as friendly as he used to be, more reserved and unfriendly. come to think of it… who is he?
Relationships: Claus/Fuel (Mother 3)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. What Is This Feeling?

**Author's Note:**

> so a really good friend of mine inspired me to start this since i've had this idea bouncing in my mind like the dvd logo whenever it hits a corner, so i decided to go "fuck it!" and finally work on this!
> 
> though i have devoid of choice still in the works, i've already finished that fic and really only need to upload the rest of the chapters, though that's prolly gonna happen at a rather slow pace. 
> 
> regardless, i hope you like this fic, and let's just hope that i actually finish it for once skdfkghk

The worst of it was over. The only task Lucas had left to take care of was to pull the final Needle. Many thoughts poured senselessly into his mind; too much had happened, and the only thing that was tugging on his mind was his brother’s death. He knew he should be feeling sad, but he only felt his senses numb, and he had previously wasted his feelings on crying over his brother’s frigid body.

Lucas turned to his father, then his friends, who encouraged him to do what he needed to do. He couldn’t help it; he was too hesitant. But he knew they wanted this ( _ Everyone  _ wanted this). There was no way to escape this situation. He had bottled up the wishes that  he wished to bestow on this fragile land for far too long. All he needed to do was pull the Needle. That’s it. That’s the only requirement!

He put his hands, shaky with the least bit of confidence, but determined nonetheless, steadily on the Needle’s helm. And with that, the deed had been done. His heart fused with the Dark Dragon, and the world began to spin.

Claus was lonely.

His mother Hinawa had been slaving away at cooking for almost an hour now. His father Flint… well, he didn’t know what he was doing. All he knew was that he was lonely. He  _ could  _ talk to Fuel, but he didn’t want to be a burden on him, regardless if he objected to that assumption or not. He always had a knack for brightening people’s days; being the light in the room. But today, something was different.

He felt as if he was forgetting something. No,  _ someone _ . 

He was probably being neurotic though.

He  emerged from his bed, cringing when a shrill sound emitted from the springs down under. But that didn’t matter.  There was something he needed to  _ do _ . He bounded down the stairs,  stopping at the sight of his mother’s delicate face . 

“Good morning, Claus,” she began softly. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” Claus said,  which was only half of the truth . “Just lonely, I guess.” 

“Hmm,” Hinawa hummed, getting back to cooking. He couldn’t tell what went wrong, but everything seemed  _ off  _ today. It  was starting to annoy him, and that hardly ever happened. 

He walked outside, the fresh morning air greeting him. Now _that_ was more like it! It felt like so long since he’d been in his own home, probably because he resided in Grandpa Alec’s home since… when? He couldn’t remember for the life of him. It was weird. It _felt_ weird. Everything was _weird_. He did his best to get his mind off of these feelings, but the thoughts continued creeping back. Why was nobody else feeling the same sinking feeling he was? He looked down towards the grass, then at his arm. For a second, he wasn’t seeing bare skin, but an arm cannon, its sole purpose being that of a weapon. But it was only for a split second. It felt akin to a vision, if he had anything to say about it. 

Claus began to shake, his mouth becoming dry as his mind flashed from the vision and back to reality. It was almost an unfamiliar feeling to him; a completely new territory that his mind typically refused to trespass. Although, in the deep catacombs of his mind, something about it felt familiar. Nostalgic, almost.  Perhaps he felt this way in a past life? No, that couldn’t be true. He was sure no one in Tazmily would take his word for it. 

He walked along into a more central area, possibly to let off steam, and to vehemently get his mind off things. This wasn’t supposed to happen.  He was Claus: son of Flint and Himawa; confident, collected,  _ obedient _ .

_ No _ . 

That last word…

That wasn’t  _ true _ .

How could he  _ think _ such a thing?

He turned to see two faces he’d seen before once or twice. One was a man with chestnut brown hair, who harbored a limp, and another man (or was he a woman?) with pink hair and a blue sweater that doubled as a dress . For some reason, he was able to remember their names, despite never seeing them before: Kumatora and Duster.

How was he able to know all these things?  Disorientation leaked into his mind, the feelings registering as familiar. He needed answers, and he needed them  _ now _ .

Before he could articulate it, his legs began to move on their own. He was running outside of Tazmily Village and into the crossroads. He even ran past that!  He persisted in running towards the strange territories of the Nowhere Island s. He didn’t understand a thing, and his body was wearing down because of it.

Finally, he was able to stop himself, coming across a vaguely familiar hill. For some reason, Claus recalled something. The memorious haze portrayed that of a boy with ginger hair, same as  Claus ’. He looked to be  nine years old , wielding what looked like a steak knife. Before him, a Drago stood, but it didn’t look like the sweet and disarming ones Claus knew.  The Drago’s face was covered with a metallic layer too.

But the vision wasn’t over. The nine year old boy raised a fist, revealing sparks of blue and yellow that caressed his palm, Claus wasn’t sure what it was. In an instant , the Drago attacked, and the dream-like state faded away. 

He  couldn't tel l if the knife-wielding child was a younger version of  himself or not. In fact, he could rarely remember his own past. It was so vivid to him, it was…

Claus did his best to recollect his thoughts, but nothing came to him. So instead of wasting his brainpower, he gave up and navigated back to his house.

  
  
He sauntered to Alec's cabin, lacking the energy to run. His lungs were full with Oriander air, thoughts filled to the brim with ideas that slipped through his fingers whenever he thought of them. He didn't want to think like this. He'd much rather not think about anything at all...

He went towards the direction of his room without exchanging a word to Hinawa. He couldn't speak to her, not now. He was close to collapsing onto his bed, but he suppressed that urge. He gazed at the other bed before him. The bed that felt cold, but at the same time, someone in the distant past had laid in it. 

_ So I'm not going insane...  _

Someone was  _ here _ .

But who was it? 

The evidence was in this very room . He got up from his own bed, taking a peek under the other one. He reached for something inside, only to be holding a shirt in his hands. He examined it for a moment, all thoughts in his mind coming to a halt. The shirt had a similar pattern to his own: thick stripes running alongside the middle. But what contrasted this was that the stripes were red and the shirt itself was yellow. 

He could only come to this conclusion, judging from the bed and the similar shirt pattern: he had a brother. 

But...  _ when _ ? And why wasn't he here, with him? 

He fixed his hair, orange tufts concealing his eyes.  He walked downstairs, noticing Hinawa fix lunch like she was doing earlier. 

“Hey, mom?”

“What is it, dear?”

“Was… someone here, besides me?” The words piled out unceremoniously,  but there was nothing he could do about them now, hanging low and without a trace. 

Hinawa turned to face Claus . “Besides your father? I don’t think so…  why do you ask?”

Claus shook his head. She knew what was on his mind, so he had to tell her, however crazy his question may be. “I don’t mean it like that. I mean… did I ever have a brother?”

Hinawa stared at him for a moment, smiling . “Of course not.  Your father and I only had you. I wouldn’t think I’d survive having twins!” She laughed as she said this, of course.

He held back on showing her the proof, if he could call it that. He knew he’d be branded as crazy for that, and for the most part, he was okay with it. But he was desperate to know if it wasn’t just him who harbored this feeling…

He had to tell someone else about this.

  
  


“Really?” Fuel asked in a chipper manner. 

“Yeah,” Claus said, taking a rock nearby and throwing it into the pond. “I don’t understand it, really.”

“Well, I believe you,” Fuel said. “Whoever doesn’t is the real crazy ones!”

Claus chuckled. “I’ve only told my mom, man. Calm down.” 

“Oh right.” Fuel sat down next to him, a bit  _ too  _ close to Claus’s liking. “So what do you suggest we do?”

“I dunno,” Claus said, casting him a look. “Look for him? He’s gotta be out there  _ somewhere _ . Hell, he’s probably still in Tazmily, for all we know!” 

Fuel put a hand to his chin in thought, face scrunching up. “You’re probably right. Hey, do you know what this brother of yours looks like?” 

Once he said that, Claus felt a headache coming on. His hand met the top of his head, eyes fluttering. With that, he got another vision: two boys, himself, maybe, and another who looked just like him, running through a field. Hinawa was trailing behind them, and the same went for their father. They were holding hands, too. But he wasn’t focusing on that part of the vision. He was focusing on the boy… his brother. But what was his  _ name _ ? 

Before he could answer that himself, the vision ended with the other boy, a blond kid who was wearing the same striped shirt Claus found under the bed. Fuel had his hands on his shoulder, and he whipped his head around to face him. 

“ You alright?” Fuel asked cheerfully, a tint of concern still present in his voice.

Claus got up. “Yeah, now get off of me.”

Fuel nodded, his hands slowly pulling themselves away. “You’re serious now…?”

“I said  _ yeah _ , what more do you want?” Claus asked. “I just had a dizzy spell or whatever.”

Fuel said nothing, but he still wore that  _ goofy  _ shit-eating grin. It was starting to make Claus mad, whenever he did that.  _ Especially  _ since he was going through a crisis, or however he was able to describe it. 

“So you’re gonna help me find him, right?” Claus asked, becoming  dizzy once he stood up. So he sat back down, facing the calm waters. 

“Of course!” Fuel had his hands on his hips, continuing to smile. “Why wouldn’t I help my best buddy on a mission to find his brother? Sounds like fun, if you ask me!” 

Claus sighed. “Look, man, this isn’t some  _ glamorous  _ adventure, however you want to make it seem. This is  _ serious _ , now act like it, because this situation calls for you to be that way.”

“I _am_ serious, man.” 

“No, you’re not.” 

“Trust me, I am.”

Claus got up again. “Okay, this is actually happening…” 

“Why wouldn’t it?” 

“Because I didn’t expect to know that I  _ actually  _ have a brother and feel the need to look for him.”

“I wish  _ I  _ had a brother,” Fuel said dreamily. “You should be grateful.”

“Grateful for what? I don’t even remember him!” 

Fuel shrugged. “You’ll figure it out when we find him.”

“ _ If  _ we find him,” Claus corrected,  standing up with his finger jabbing Fuel’s cheek .

“And we will!” Fuel threw his hands up. “With the two of us working together, we’ll be unstoppable!”

Claus gazed at the water. “I’m planning to have a few more come along. I don’t want  _ us  _ to be missing as well.” 

“But wouldn’t that mean the people coming with us would get lost too?”

“Not if they’re smart enough.”

Fuel pointed at him, emitting an “ah.” 

Claus sighed, getting up and leaving the pond, with Fuel briskly trailing behind him.

He was going to get to the bottom of this, whether he liked it or not. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5/17/20: so I'm basically editing a few things abt this fic, mainly the prose cause some of the wording happens to flow horribly. my writing style has changed a bit since this fic, so I might as well edit some things.


	2. New Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Claus and Fuel head to the Sunshine Forest to look for Lucas, they end up in an unfortunate predicament.

Duster couldn’t understand what was happening.

The world was safe. There were no Pigmasks to be seen. Civilization was all as it should be, everyone was _alive_ . Everything was _fantastic_.

But Lucas was nowhere to be seen.

It made Duster wonder what his wish was, if there was one at all. If he wasn’t here, then…

“Hey, Duster, what’s goin’ on?” Kumatora asked, wearing a sympathetic look on her face. It didn’t fit her at all, but Duster didn’t care.

“Just wondering where Lucas went,” Duster said. “He doesn’t seem to be here…”

Kumatora put a hand to her chin in thought, then looked at Duster again. “You too?”

Duster nodded. He didn’t _understand_ it. If the world was at its best, then shouldn’t Lucas be around, too?

“He didn’t die back there, did he?” Duster asked.

Kumatora shook her head, trying her best to conceal her evident dejection. “No, it couldn’t be… _Everyone_ survived it, I’m sure…”

“He fused his heart with the Dark Dragon, right?” Duster said, raising a finger. “So maybe we should go back to that place.”

“The place where he fought Claus?”

“Exactly.”

Right on cue, an orange-haired boy entered their field of vision, as well as a brown-haired boy his age. But the orange-haired boy… he…

Duster and Kumatora didn’t know what to say, because _Claus_ was standing in front of them. In the flesh! No cybernetic arm, no controlling fuckface telling him what to do; just Claus strolling casually around Tazmily, like it was meant to be. He didn’t look like he normally did, however. He had his hair concealing one part of his face, and he was wearing a sweatshirt instead of a T-shirt, but still donned that recognizable blue and yellow striped pattern.

Claus stared at the duo, and Duster wondered if he recognized them. But it seemed like he didn’t, as he looked at his friend and gestured towards a specific direction. From there, they scurried to the crossroads, with Duster watching dazedly from behind.

“What are ya waitin’ for?” Kumatora asked, breaking him out of his reverie.

“Huh?”

“We’re gonna follow ‘em! They seem suspicious, especially that Claus-lookin’ person…”

“Uhh, I’m pretty sure that _is_ Claus.”

Kumatora stared at him in disbelief. “He’s supposed to be—” She stopped herself, but he knew _exactly_ what she was about to say—“ _You know_. Anyways, we need to follow ‘em, stat!”

“Why do we need to?” Duster asked. “I’m sure they don’t know where they’re going.”

“We don’t know that!” Kumatora seized his hands, running towards the direction of the crossroads. “Now c’mon!”

Unprompted, they were off.

  
  
  


“You sure you know where we’re going?” Claus asked.

They were in the Sunshine Forest, and if Claus knew anything about forests, it was that they were going to die, _especially_ if he was putting his fate in Fuel’s hands.

“Nope!” Fuel said honestly. “I’m just going where the road is telling me to!”

“But there is no road…”

  
Fuel shushed him with a hand. “Pretend there is.”

Claus sighed. The _stupidity_ of this bastard.

He followed him throughout the forest, and it wasn’t a quiet one at all. Multiple birds chirped in a harmonious rhythm, and he could hear critters scurrying across the floor. It was a summer day, too, but it felt more like autumn, in an environment like this.

Claus stepped on a stick, hearing it crack. He wanted to cover his ears because of it, due to it sounding louder than he assumed it would be. Maybe it was because of those dizzy spells and visions he experienced earlier.

Fuel turned around. “You alright?”

Claus waved a hand in dismissal. “Yeah, keep going.”

Fuel nodded, still smiling. Claus tried to pull off a smile too, because he was being skeptical all this time, but he couldn’t. He looked ugly when smiling, anyway. Thirteen-year-old angsty teens don’t look good when they smile, this he knew. Except for maybe Fuel. He shook his head at the thought. Did he seriously just _think_ that, with his own mind? He sighed, focusing on the task at hand.

“You think we’ll get lost?” Fuel asked, hands relaxing behind his head.

“With you around, definitely.” Claus replied.

“Hey, don’t be so pessimistic! I’m sure we’ll do-”

He stopped talking once he noticed Claus wearing a horrified look on his face. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

His breath hitched, hands grasping his head. He looked up at Fuel, and the same look from earlier had persisted.

“We’re being followed. _Go_.”

“Wait, what are you talk-”

“I said **_go_ **!”

Fuel did as he said, sprinting away from him. He looked behind him, noticing three shadowy figures about to leap towards him, but they weren’t human. As he squinted to get a better look (as if that worked!), he tripped on something, but he wasn’t sure if it was due to the ongoing adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He heard Claus yell “Get up!” but he was unable to. He then noticed Claus squaring up against the assailants. Like he assumed, they weren’t human. They looked to be animals, but he wasn’t sure.

“Claus!” Fuel shrieked. “You can’t go up against those things, can you!?”

Claus panted in response. “I’m not sure…”

For some reason, a burst of power spread throughout Claus’s nerves. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt… relieving. As if he could do anything! But he wasn’t sure how to activate them, if they happened to be the powers he was thinking of. The powers those pink-haired weirdos gave him. Somehow, he survived that, so he was sure he could survive this, too.

“Claus… you can’t…” Fuel croaked, head still on the ground. He could feel his heartbeat rattle in his bones.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Claus said, waiting for the power to surround him.

  
_Why isn’t this working?_

The enemy pounced, tackling Claus to the ground. It proceeded to peck near his eyes, but Claus wouldn’t let it. He briskly shoved it off of him, waiting for it to attack again.

The enemy, which had the head of a chicken and the body of a snake, persisted in pouncing on him. Claus sloppily dodged, and somehow, he was able to do this. But _why_? Did this have something to do with his lack of memory of his brother? Or had he always learned how to fight, albeit weakly?

Claus kicked the adversary away, and once he came back, he kicked it some more. The more he did it, the more he felt like _he_ was in control, instead of the other way around.

Finally, it ceased movement, and Claus felt the need to celebrate. But before he could do that, _more_ enemies emerged from the shadows. They were surrounding him, too, and they didn’t stop coming. The more they came around, the more Claus couldn’t focus on any of them. And he continued to be surrounded… until…

Two figures stood in front of him; one was a girl with pink hair, the other a man who looked to be in his late twenties. The two of them held their fists in front of them, but the girl had fire encompassing her hands. Now how could she _do that_ with no effort?

Claus stood there petrified, watching the duo fight with only elegance by their side. It was like a bond had synchronized, if he had anything to say about it. The man, who lacked the supernatural powers the girl wielded, was still able to keep the adversaries at bay via kicking and using specific weapons. The girl, however, was primarily using her powers, specifically fire. The power she was emitting rattled in Claus’s bones, however that worked.

Finally, the enemies were finished off like nothing had happened. The girl and the man high-fived each other, the girl saying, “See? No sweat!”

Claus’s mouth was slightly ajar upon looking at them. “How…?” was all he could say at the moment.

The girl turned around to meet his eyes. “You two alright? What are you guys doin’ here, anyway?”

“More importantly, why are there still enemies here?” The man asked, a hand rubbing his chin.

“Oh! Uhh,” Fuel tried to explain. “We were just looking for his brother.” He pointed at Claus, and he made a displeased face.

“Brother?” The girl repeated. “But why here?”

“I dunno, just figured that he’d be here, since he’s not in Tazmily,” Fuel said. “Why are you asking so many questions, anyway? My brain’s starting to hurt thanks to you guys asking too many of them!”

“Never mind that,” The girl said. “Speaking of missing people, have you seen a boy? He’s about as tall as this dude here.” She pointed to Claus. “Kinda looks like him, too, except he’s blond.”

Claus’s eyes widened at the description, which made another vision fill his brain. He was in the middle of an unfamiliar place, but at the same time, he could recognize it. He was familiarized by the name, too: Chupichupyoi temple. The people in front of him looked to be a girl with pink hair, the same girl who was in front of him currently, as well as a brown-haired man with a mullet, who also happened to be the same man with him. And the boy… the boy had blond hair and the same striped shirt he wore in previous visions. So could that mean…?

Claus could feel his head spinning, caught up in a bout of absolute vertigo. He held a hand on his head, eyes closing. He could hear someone asking if he was alright, but he was unable to answer.

“Hey, Claus!” Fuel said, shaking him a fair bit. “You good?”

Claus returned to his senses, glaring at Fuel. “Yeah, yeah.”

He gazed at the duo. “I have a brother that matches this exact description.”

“Maybe he’s the same dude,” The girl said with a poised look. “Is his name Lucas?”

“Lucas…” The name rolled off his tongue easily. With that, he received another vision of his brother, with him saying something along the lines of, “Don’t go, Claus! Mom wouldn’t want this!”

The blurry vision of himself smiled. “But I have to, Lucas. I have to avenge mom.” With that said, the vision ended with such a small interaction.

“Yeah, that’s him...” Claus said dazedly.

“It seems like we’ve got the same goal,” The man observed, scratching his head.

“What, you asking to come with us?” Claus examined both of them. “No can do. We can manage on our own.”

Fuel threw his hands up ardently. “But Claus! You said you _wanted_ to-”

“Doesn’t matter what I said earlier,” Claus was close to leaving the forest. “Right now, I’m saying we can manage.”

Fuel inched closer to him. “You’re just saying that because you don’t want to talk to anyone. Besides me, perhaps?”

“ _Ugh_ , no thank you,” Claus pushed Fuel out of the way, a look of disgust present on his face.

The girl sighed. “Look, we need to work together whether we like it or not. We share a common goal, we might as well use it to our advantage.” She looked at Claus once more. “You say he’s your brother, correct?”

Claus nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“We seem to know more about your brother than you do, no offense. So maybe, just _maybe_ , you can help us.”

Claus thought for a moment, coming to his conclusion in an instant.

“ _Fine_ , only so you guys can stop asking.”

“Hell yeah!” Fuel jumped for joy. “This is gonna be fun, with more people around.”

The girl tapped her foot in impatience. “Oh, right! We forgot to introduce ourselves. Whoops! Anyway, I’m Kumatora, this dude over here is Duster.”

The man, Duster, waved shyly. Fuel waved back, but to a more aggressive and friendly extent, however he was able to do that.

“Well, I’m Fuel, and this here is Claus!” Fuel exclaimed, beaming whilst pointing to Claus. Claus waved, sneering at Duster and Kumatora.

“Not a nice guy, ain’t he?” Kumatora asked.

“He’ll warm up to you.”

Claus averted his eyes, absorbing the information as it came to him. He wondered why he felt some mysterious power, and why he, out of all people, couldn’t use it, yet it seemed to have come naturally to Kumatora. He gazed at Duster, wondering why he couldn’t use it, but he was able to hold his own against those animals, or whatever they were.

He wondered if he should tell his mother where they were going, because it seemed that he wasn’t going to see her again for a long while. Come to think of it, she’d get worried sick, wondering where her precious son went off to! Knowing that, it seemed best to get her up to speed on what he was up to.

As his thought started to go full circle, Fuel elbowed him for a moment, causing Claus to almost lash out, only to realize that he was only concerned for his well being.

The words “You good?” echoed in his ears. How many times was he going to say that, anyway? He was _fine_ ! Well, for now, considering he wasn’t experiencing another one of those visions. He appreciated his concern, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be constantly pampered by him. He can handle his own, like Duster and Kumatora when they fought those… _things_.

“By the way,” Claus said, turning to Kumatora. “What were those things that surrounded us earlier?”

Kumatora faced the ground, crossing her arms. “Chimeras. Specifically, slitherhens.”

 _Chimera_. The word echoed endlessly in his mind, and familiarity struck him where he stood. Much like most of the things he’d been thinking about.

“They were supposed to be gone a long time ago,” Duster added. “Wonder why they’re back now.”

Claus felt the newfound wind settle into his hair. Things were falling into place, and he wondered if it had anything to do with Lucas. Regardless, he sighed, prepared to leave the forest.

“We might as well go,” Claus said, “before anything else happens.”

Kumatora nodded as she thrusted her hands in the pockets of her dress. “Good plan.”

Fuel caught up with Claus, shoving him playfully while smiling. Claus shoved him back, albeit in a harsh manner.

Claus didn’t know why, but he could tell that it was going to be a long day.

  
  
Claus knocked on the door to Alec’s cabin, waiting for a response. He didn’t get one, however, which made him wonder where his mother was, in times like these.

He sighed, trying again, but no answer. He was close to banging his head on the door, but managed to suppress that urge.

“So what are we doin’ here?” Kumatora asked.

“Just telling my mom where we’re going,” Claus said. “Don’t want her worrying about me now… this search party won’t take long, right?”

Kumatora shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll be searching for him for years!” Kumatora elbowed Duster, and he laughed, though it sounded forceful, as if he was hiding something. Claus didn’t know what, though, nor did he want to know. At least he had the decency not to ask about things like that.

“Hold on,” Claus said, opening the door only to run towards the direction of his room. The others didn’t follow him, which was good. By the time he reached his room, he rummaged through one of his drawers, pulling out a steak knife, the same one he wielded while fighting off that Drago. He proceeded to walk back to the group, showing off his knife.

“Anyways, she’s not here. Let’s keep moving.”

“Will do, leader!” Fuel exclaimed, happy as can be. He wondered how he could stay positive, because if Claus were to act like that, he’d be going insane by now.

That was when Claus stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to the group in discombobulation, asking, “Where _are_ we going, anyway?”

“You didn’t have a plan?”

“Well, no… I wasn’t expecting to have such a large group, and Fuel isn’t good at planning!”

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t do anything!”

“You were the one that planned this in the first place…”

“Oh, yeah.”

Claus sighed, feeling his anger simmer bit by bit. He faced the group, muttering, “You got any ideas?”

He watched Kumatora and Duster talk amongst themselves, causing Kumatora to nod at his query whilst saying, “I know where we can go.”

“Lead the way, then,” Claus rolled his eyes, following her lead.

He was left with his thoughts once more, wondering if this was going to work. Did these two know what they were doing? Well, they were more likely to than Fuel would ever be. Sometimes, he hoped that Fuel would develop some semblance of responsibility, but that day never came. At this point, he assumed it never will.

He normally wasn’t the type to be pessimistic, as far as he knew. He didn’t know why he was acting this way. It was possibly the result of turning thirteen, but he was sure that he turned thirteen long ago. Any sense of time had since slipped his mind ever since that lingering feeling of something missing in his life manifested itself. He didn’t know what to think, if he had to be honest.

As he continued walking, he noticed Fuel prancing in front of him. He wished he was like him now: carefree; innocent, even. He didn’t give a rat’s ass what would happen to him, as long as he survived. Those traits were a husk of Claus’ former self, he knew this. But he didn’t know how it _happened_. Again, it could have been due to puberty, but Fuel was the same age as him, so what gives?

Fuel frowned slightly, gazing at Claus. He was close to opening his mouth, but he decided against it and continued skipping merrily to where Kumatora was taking them. Claus hoped that where they were going wasn’t going to get them killed, because he was pretty sure that wasn’t part of the plan.

They reached the end of the crossroads, their destination being a train station. Claus had never rode a train before, so if that was what they were about to do, then he was looking forward to it. Though it wasn’t like he was looking forward to whatever this search party was about to provide them.

“So, where are we going?” Claus asked, facing Kumatora.

“You’ll find out,” she simply said, handing the conductor some DP, sending them on their way.

They walked towards the back of the train, sitting down near each other. With that out of the way, the train’s horn sounded, and they were off.

  
  
  


Claus experienced the joy of riding a green train.

Their destination was… rather exotic. Music could be heard from inside what looked to be a club, and two bodyguards were standing proudly in front of the entrance. Fuel wore a starry-eyed look in his eyes, like he was about to jump for joy at any time. Both Claus and Fuel were country boys at heart, so going to a club was uncharacteristic on their part.

“What _is_ this place?” Fuel asked, his starry-eyed expression refusing to fade away.

“Club Titiboo?” Duster turned to Kumatora. “Why here?”

“Just thinkin’ he’d be here,” Kumatora responded. “Maybe to revisit some old memories.”

Duster sighed. “We don’t even have a ticket…”

“Not a problem! Once those guards get distracted, we can sneak in!”

“ _Why_ do we need to do that?”

“What, you think we have _time_ to earn ‘em ourselves? Lucas’ whereabouts are important, Duster!”

“Well, yeah, but…”

Kumatora hovered a hand over his mouth, whispering, “Quiet or we’ll lose our shot.”

Claus sighed, knowing full well that this was an unorthodox way to do something. Though he didn’t object, because he’d be in for one hell of an ass whooping, especially with those powers of hers. 

They waited, and _waited_ , and **waited** , but the guards never left their spot. Claus was beginning to go hungry, and the same went for Fuel. What _was_ the last thing they ate?

He looked up to the sky, the sun starting to set. He was surprised that didn’t happen earlier, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the impatience and hunger settling in his stomach and chest.

“It doesn’t seem to be working,” Claus said. “Can we _leave_ now? We can do this tomorrow.”

“Are you sayin’ you don’t care about your own brother’s fate?”

“No, of course not, I’m just saying that he couldn’t have gone far…”

“Claus is right,” Duster said. “Lucas doesn’t seem the type to go back here, anyway.”

“Yeah, well, what if he was lookin’ for us?”

“He’d know we wouldn’t be here.”

“How do you know-”

“I know him, and he wouldn’t go here.”

“Fine, then!” Kumatora bellowed, getting up. “But I’m _still_ goin’ to beat up those guards tomorrow!”

Everyone shushed her once she finished her exclamation, gazing back at the guards fearfully. They didn’t bat an eyelash, however.

They returned to the train, fatigued from hunger and the battle that took place earlier that day. Claus gazed at his knife, twirling it in his hand. Kumatora and Duster were talking, while Fuel was staring out the window.

The sun was out of sight, Claus noted, staring at the window with Fuel. He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened today. He knew what he was prepared for when deciding to go look for Lucas, but he didn’t expect _so much_ to happen. In one day, no less!

He shook off the sleep that was beginning to tug at his eyelids. He could wait until home was in sight. He stared at his hands, becoming _very_ close to losing consciousness right then and there.

In his bout of fatigue, he wondered how long it would take for them to get home. It seemed like it would take an eternity until then. But Claus didn’t care as long as he got to sleep eventually. He sighed, inching towards his own window, a hand over his chin.

“You’re tired too, huh?” Fuel said out of nowhere, scaring Claus out of his wits.

He pulled back in surprise. He then crossed his arms, fixing his gaze towards the window again.

“Yeah,” Claus replied. “I’m surprised you are, of all people.”

Fuel laughed in a mischievous fashion. “I just don’t happen to show it like you do.” He stopped looking at the window, turning to Claus. “But you’re still willing to look for your brother, despite that.”

“Of course.” Claus said, fixing a part of his hair. “Hell, I’d go to the ends of the earth if I had to, even if I end up straying far away from the Nowhere Islands.” He propped his feet up on Fuel’s seat. “But for now, I might as well rest, once we get off this train.”

“You know,” Fuel said, smiling, “even if you don’t show it, you still care. You even care for me, and those two strangers over there.” He pointed to Kumatora and Duster. Kumatora raised a fist in response, hollering, “Who you callin’ strangers!?”

“I guess you’re right…”

Claus mulled it over. He didn’t know much about himself, so the least he could do was take Fuel’s word for it.

The rest of the train ride was spent in silence, which was fine with him. He didn’t have enough energy to talk, either, because Fuel had taken all of that away. It made him wish that he was like Fuel all the more: bumbling and full of energy constantly, able to speak when spoken to.

He yawned, standing up once he saw the train station in sight. He wobbled back and forth, eyes fluttering, but he managed to keep his composure via Fuel's arm. He lacked the energy to thank him, though Fuel knew that he appreciated the gesture.

Claus’ new friends reached home first. They lived together, which came as a surprise to him. They didn’t seem like the type to do that sort of thing. He wondered what kind of relationship they had, but he could tell that it wasn’t romantic from a mile away.

For the remainder of the trip, he walked home with Fuel. He could hardly say anything, so he let him do all the talking. It was how it had always been, and he couldn’t take it any other way.

“Welp, here we are,” Fuel said.

“Why did you decide to walk me home?” Claus asked. “We _just_ passed your house.”

“I wanted to make sure you got home safe, that’s all,” Fuel replied, scratching his head, refusing to make eye contact with him.

Claus sighed. “This town’s _always_ safe, there’s no way anything’s going to happen to me.”

“Yeah, but remember those weird animals we were fighting?”

“I’m sure they’ll be in the woods, not here.”

Fuel gave up by then. “Alright… but seriously, stay safe, alright?”

Claus chuckled. “No promises.”

By the time he closed the door, he immediately went up to his room and collapsed on his bed, the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes being the mattress that once belonged to his brother. But no longer would he see that bed become empty.


	3. electrify my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gotta lose your innocence / before you find it stolen / i will try to understand / but i don't wanna know / down and out / sirens loud, that / awful sound, shoulda / shut my mouth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for the long wait, here's the new chapter!! i also happened to edit the first two chapters, since they weren't that great imo. chapter 4 coming soon btw!! maybe,,

Claus looked down at a part of him that wasn’t himself. Or, he assumed that was the case. He looked down at his hand to see the arm cannon attached to what was supposed to be an arm made of flesh and bone. That cybernetic arm… it was  _ his _ , right? 

These prosthetic eyes were his. This helmet was his. Oh, and these thoughts? Totally his!   
So why did he feel like he was in the wrong body? 

He was an emotionless husk, only useful for obeying orders. It sounded correct, but  _ why? _ It was the only thing that his emotions were capable of. But that wasn’t true, now was it?

His life continued to flash before his eyes like a movie. Multiple events played out at once, yet he couldn’t piece together the context of the scenes. Was this…  _ his _ life? But that couldn’t be true! He was  _ nothing  _ like the person he was looking at! And if this really was him, then why would he be acting in such a way? 

Claus woke up in a cold sweat, eyes darting around the room, hands curled into fists in front of him like he was trying to pick a fight with someone. His fingers stroked the top of his forehead while he focused on regulating his breath. His hand reached his hair, and he leaned back, facing the ceiling.

He wanted to question  _ everything, _ but he was unable to. He was unable to think, nor was he able to speak. Though it wasn’t as questionable as the other things he’d faced up until this point. As usual, he had so many questions.

He turned to the empty bed. Another day, another time he had to look at the continuously empty bed that had once belonged to his brother. 

He couldn’t find the energy to get up. It wasn’t really his strong suit, to get up in the morning. But he did it anyway, because that’s what he had to do, right? And he had business to tend to, so he at least had a reason to get up. 

Sighing, his feet gently hit the ground, and he gathered his upper body strength to get up. He blinked, then rubbed the excess sleep out of his eyes. He looked to search for his shoes, only to see someone at the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around, but the figure was gone. He groaned, pulling on his shoes and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. After that, he rushed down the stairs, skidding to a stop once he saw his mother. 

“Mom!” He exclaimed, rushing to her side. “I’m going out… for a while.”

She sighed through gritted teeth, and Claus gulped. “How long?”

Claus turned away, a stern expression on his face. “I’m not sure… All I’m saying is that I’ll be gone for a long time. But don’t worry, I’ll come back.”

_ That is, if I’m not dead by then…  _ came an afterthought, but he pushed it to the back of his mind for good measure.

Hinawa’s smile faded as she said, “I wish you well, then. Be sure to take breaks every so often, you hear? I don’t want you straining yourself… you’re my only son, after all.”

_ That’s not entirely true.  _ Claus’s mind spoke up once again, and he grimaced at the thought of it, eyes tightly shut. 

“Yeah, I probably won’t do that,” With that said, Claus caught himself in the embrace of his mother. He hadn’t felt the warmth of a human being in a long time, let alone his mother. 

He could tell that Hinawa was close to crying, and he didn’t want to witness her tears. Nonetheless, he hugged her once more, then fled for the door. 

He stopped at the sound of her final reminder. “Stay safe, okay?”

Claus turned around, hand on the door handle. “Alright.”

He stepped outside, then took in the air of his hometown. It tasted bitter this time, not at all like the sweetness he was expecting. Regardless, he proceeded to turn a corner. He wondered where Fuel was. That doof was probably standing near the front of his house, waiting for him, but who knows?

He watched the townspeople communicate with each other.  _ As it’s always been _ , he thought as he watched them. He turned to his frontal vision, focusing on what he was trying to do.

Kumatora and Duster were nowhere to be seen. He continued to look around, away from the village square. It was the early morning, so not a lot of people were out and about. 

He sighed when he heard a voice call out to him. He turned around to see Fuel waving at him from a distance. He ran up to him, growing tired with each step.

“Looking for me?” Fuel asked cheekily. 

“Yeah,” Claus said. “You know where Kumatora and Duster are?”

“Nope!” Fuel clapped a hand on his back, and it made Claus shudder at the sudden contact. “All I know is that they live in a house that was recently built.”

“I checked by when I was looking for you,” Claus said. “They weren’t there.”

Fuel stared blankly. Possibly in thought, Claus assumed. Did he even  _ have  _ thoughts? “Perhaps we should look for them together!”   
“My thoughts exactly.” 

It was only clear that they should look for them, because what else were they supposed to do? He didn’t think that they were anywhere unsafe, but knowing them…

“Don’t look so tense!” Fuel interrupted Claus’ thoughts. 

“I’m not-” 

“You  _ are _ , though,” Fuel said with a smirk that Claus had seen from him many times. 

Claus cleared his throat. “I’ve been having a rough morning, alright?”

“Oh.” Fuel said with his mouth ajar, like this was the first he’d seen Claus in such a vulnerable state. He tilted his head thoughtfully. “Care to tell me about it?”

Claus took a step forward, and Fuel followed. He could hear their footsteps synchronize with the dirt floor, but  _ no _ , that wasn’t important. 

“It was just a dream,” Claus said, and it was purely the truth, “nothing to do with this current reality at all. Yeah, that’s it.”

“You don’t sound too sure about that,” Fuel chimed. 

Claus suppressed the urge to laugh. “No shit.” 

Fuel stopped abruptly when Claus did. His eyes bore into Claus’ emerald ones, then pushed the stray hair out of his face. Claus shoved his hand away and adjusted his hair accordingly. Who did he think he was, his  _ mother _ _?_

“Whatever,” Claus grumbled, “this isn’t important. What’s important is finding Kumatora and Duster so we can get over this stupid —” 

“Hey!!” A voice hollered in their direction. Kumatora, from the sound of it. 

Claus and Fuel turned around at a moment’s notice. Fuel was quick to wave wildly at  the duo, while Claus felt elected to ignore them. He didn’t earn much points from Fuel, though, but who cares about that? 

“Where were you?” Claus demanded, followed by Fuel’s dumb greeting. 

“Sorry, we both decided to head to Club Titiboo without you,” Kumatora said, flashing a peace sign in a pathetic attempt of an apology. 

Fuel persisted with that shit-eating grin of his. “That’s alright! We’re still gonna be traveling, together, after all.”

“So how did that go?” Claus said as he crossed his arms. 

“He wasn’t there, like we expected,” Duster said. He rubbed the back of his head and added, “Kuma ended up getting into a fight with the guards while we were there, though.”

_ “Serves them right!”  _ Kumatora shouted, hand balled into a fist. “I was forced to work there so I could look for you three years ago, the least they can do is — ”

Duster grabbed a hold of Kumatora’s collar, letting her off the hook once she shot him a nasty look. “That’s enough of that…” 

“Where to now?” Fuel asked with a starry look in his eyes. In reality, he looked more like a lost puppy. 

“I dunno,” Kumatora said. “Maybe we could check Cerulean Beach? Since we’re still in Tazmily, we might as well search every nook and cranny before moving on.”

Everybody else nodded in agreement. Claus couldn’t care less where they went, as long as they were able to find Lucas. 

Which brought him to his next point. 

  
  
  


“Hey, Claus?” Fuel asked. “Do you remember Nana?” 

Claus looked away from the waves lapping on the beach’s surface. “Nana?” The name rolled on his tongue in familiarity. 

“Yeah, Nana!” Fuel said, walking ahead of him. “She was our age, and a lot of people didn’t like her because she would never shut up. I liked her, though. I wonder where she went.” 

“She’s gone?” Somehow,  _ he  _ didn’t know about this. And he was sure he knew every resident in Tazmily. Name, face,  _ everything _ . 

Fuel’s smile faded. “Uhh, yeah? You didn’t know? I think she disappeared this year.” 

“C’mon guys!” Kumatora exclaimed from above. “Quit the small talk! Lucas’ life is more important, you know!!”

“Right, sorry!” Fuel said, a cheeky grin spread across his face. 

Claus watched the crashing waves amplify once it reached the surface. He knew this was a huge waste of time before it took place. Lucas would  _ never  _ wind up here. Not like he didn’t like the beach; he appreciated going whenever they got the chance. Somehow, he managed to remember this, and he couldn’t tell whether that was a good sign or not. 

Fuel shot him a concerned look, brown eyes softened. Claus could get lost in them, though brown eyes were perceived as unremarkable, and people had a point when they expressed that statement. Though Fuel’s eyes weren't the color of the ocean, he still happened to drink deeply in that gaze of his. 

“Uhh, Claus?” Fuel proffered a hand. “You alright, man? You’re looking a bit…”

Claus pushed his hand away. He didn’t need to start catching feelings, now. “I’m fine, I just… recalled a memory… or something.” 

“Really?” Fuel said. He looked up at the cliff’s edge, hollering, “Ya hear that, we’re making progress!” 

_ Yeah, but not enough…  _

A sigh escaped Claus’ lips. “Listen, guys, he’s not here. Why  _ would  _ he be here, if he knows we’re looking for him?” 

Kumatora and Duster gazed at each other, then ambled down the cliff to meet Fuel and Claus. 

“How would he know that we’re looking for him, though?” Duster asked, forefingers pushed together. 

“What, are you telling me he doesn’t want to be found?” It was something Claus couldn’t believe. When people were lost, wouldn’t the first thought in their mind express wanting to be found? 

“I didn’t mean it like  _ that _ , but…” 

“Then  _ tell  _ me,” Claus says, emerald eyes glowing with anticipation. 

“Tell you what?” 

“Tell me what you meant by that.”

Kumatora sighed, then clapped a hand on Claus and Duster’s backs, which caused Claus to flinch. “We should rest. Arguing isn’t gonna help our case.” 

Claus pursed his lips. “You’re right, but…” 

Kumatora turned to face him. “Hmm?”

Claus felt a surge of energy rattle in his bones. It didn’t help that he was shaking like a leaf, and that the rush of energy made him nauseated, like he was going to collapse at any moment. He couldn’t  _ bear  _ the eyes that were copiously planted on him, either! 

“ _ What if he doesn’t want to be found?” _

Incredulity crossed each of their faces, shifting between whether to believe Claus or not. But Claus knew he was right. He was right about everything, wasn’t he? 

“No, I get it,” Claus continued. “He doesn’t want to see me, in this state. And I understand his reasoning.”

“Claus…”

“I’m going home,” Claus said, tone devoid of life. “You guys can go on without me.” 

They couldn’t talk him out of this decision.  _ Nobody  _ would have the words to, after what he said. And if they did? Well, he’d have to convince them otherwise by himself, now wouldn’t he? 

If there was one thing he didn’t expect, it was that Fuel had latched onto his arm the whole time, not daring to let go. He continued to squeeze tighter, and Claus had to wonder what his deal was. Actually, saying he had a tight grip was an understatement. 

Claus met Fuel’s eyes, eyes full of desperation and paranoia. He refused to question why they were in such a state. Instead, he focused on his escape, but to no avail. 

“Didn’t I tell you?” Claus asked, running out of breath. “You can take care of it yourself, I’m leaving.” 

Fuel’s resolve was unyielding, and he persevered with a clenched hand. It left Claus with no choice but to bite back with force, much to Fuel’s (and perhaps his own) chagrin. 

He shoved his arm away from Fuel’s, and he hardly witnessed the hopelessness in Fuel’s eyes. He stood there motionless, mind forming a blank until Fuel grabbed a hold of his arm again. He swallowed the gasp that planned to jump out of his throat. 

“Claus, there’s no need to-”

“I said  **_get away_ ** _**!”**_ Claus exclaimed, a burst of energy erupting from his palms. “I mean it!!” 

He couldn’t understand what was happening. His palms were sweaty, singed at the tip, and there were his friends (could he really call them friends?), staring at him with widened eyes like he was a caged animal. He sure felt like one, that was for sure. 

Claus chose not to ask, because when he tried, his vision grew blurry in an attempt to stagger towards the group. He leaned forward, and before he knew it, the world faded to black.

  
  
When he came to, he was in Fuel’s arms. Wait…  _ Fuel’s  _ arms? He squirmed in his grip, a blistering sensation coming over him. The trio stood there with disoriented expressions, trying to articulate Claus’ feelings in that moment. That  _ totally  _ wasn’t going to work, because Claus couldn’t understand his  _ own  _ feelings!

Their eyes remained planted on him in silence, which caused him to utter the first word. 

“What  _ happened _ ?” 

“I dunno,” Fuel said hesitantly. “You struck me with this… immense power,” He grimaced once he wiggled his arm. “It still hurts, actually.” 

“Well,  _ I’m  _ sorry you--wait, did you say  _ immense power _ _?”_

Claus couldn’t believe what he was hearing! Power? There was  _ no way  _ he had powers to call his own! He had been taught some freaky powers by those beings three years back, but the more he put his mind to it, the less these ‘powers’ manifested. So it couldn’t be true!

“You know what this means, right?” Kumatora asked in a stern tone. 

Claus exhaled, then turned away.  _ Of course  _ he knew. He couldn’t deny it, no matter how much he wanted to, and it was about time to embrace the fact. With a sorrowful expression, he announced the curse that rained down on him ever since the incident three years ago:

“I have powers, don’t I?” 


	4. i'll get the hang of this eventually

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Claus learns about his powers, his peers suggest that he learns to control them. Unfortunately, that's not easy for someone who prefers to work alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii i finally decided to sit down and finish this chapter for once!! i had it sitting in my drafts since the summer, and Finally finished it in october, and now comes time to post it. with that said, i hope u enjoy the update, and who knows when i'll Actually be able to work on the next one?

“Not just powers,” Kumatora said with a raised finger. “ _ PSI _ .” 

“Yeah, I get it!!” Who  _ cares  _ about the specifics? Claus sure didn’t. More than anything, he didn’t want to  _ believe  _ that he was anything besides normal. Why did it have to be  _ him,  _ of all people? Maybe if he was able to stop his ten year old self from performing such a reckless and selfish action...

“Wait, so what does this mean?” Fuel asked. His mouth was agape, and he was close to bouncing up and down, though Claus wouldn’t allow that in his presence. 

Kumatora rose to her feet. “Welp, that prolly means that he needs to utilize his PSI from now on. And who knows that better than me?” She pointed to herself with a grin. 

Claus groaned. “No,  _ no.  _ You don’t need to do this. You don’t need to worry about me. Not like we’re going to be fighting anyone.”

“We don’t know that!” Fuel spoke up. “Listen to her for once, Claus!” There was a look in his eyes that suggested… concern? intrigue? Claus couldn’t quite place what the expression entailed. 

“He’s right,” Kumatora said. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. Just get through the basics if you don’t wanna go into the specifics.” 

Claus got up and dusted himself off. He didn’t  _ want  _ to know anything more about these strange powers of his. But at the same time, he felt like he  _ had  _ to. If he didn’t, he’d  _ never  _ be able to control them, and he knew, more than anyone, that something like that spelled trouble. Not just for him, but the entire group. 

Instead of speaking his true feelings, he figured a white lie wouldn’t hurt. “I’ll think about it.”

_ “Think about it?”  _ Kumatora repeated. “Are you  _ crazy?  _ Lucas’ life could potentially be in danger, and here you are, ponderin’ if you should learn PSI or not!!” 

“So? I’m not special. It’s not like I have these  _ flashy amazing  _ powers like a minority of the world seems to have! I’m not like you, so don’t treat me like your equal.”

Kumatora blinked. Whatever he was referring to, it was utter hogwash. “You  _ just  _ proved that you’re able to wield PSI, don’t be in denial now…” 

“I’m  _ not  _ in denial,” Claus shot back. 

The other stared back at him in disbelief. 

“Okay,  _ maybe  _ I am,” Claus said, “but what am I gonna do,  _ teach  _ myself PSI? I don’t even know the basics!”

Duster shook his head. “Of course not,” He pointed to Kumatora. “Like she said, she’s going to teach you.” 

“Excuse me?”

“She’s the only one here with PSI,” Duster said. “Let me rephrase that: the only  _ experienced  _ one with PSI.” If Claus was able to wield PSI, then that meant Fuel could too, though that was merely a hunch.

Claus looked away. He was going to have to put up with Kumatora  _ just  _ so he could understand these strange powers of his, huh? Great! Cool!  _ Just  _ great!! He never got along well with people, but maybe this encounter wouldn’t be so bad if that meant achieving a common goal. Make that  _ two  _ common goals. 

“Alright then,” Claus said. “I’ll take up your offer. On  _ one  _ condition.” 

Kumatora raised an eyebrow in response. “And what is that?”

Claus walked closer to her, to the point where they could see eye to eye. There  _ was  _ a noticeable height difference though.  _ “Don’t  _ get in my way.”

That got a laugh out of Kumatora. “What are you sayin’? You’re new to this, you’re not gonna do anythin’ spectacular anytime soon.” 

“Allow me to elaborate,” Claus said, who faced away from her. “This will be the  _ only  _ time you’re allowed to help me. After that, we no longer work together.” 

“Whoa whoa whoa  _ whoa,” _ Kumatora interrupted, “aren’t we already working together by searching for Lucas?” 

_ Shit,  _ she had a point there. Claus didn’t think anything of it. But the more he thought about it, the answer became clear. 

“We may share a common goal, but we’re  _ not  _ working together.” 

“And what’s wrong with a little teamwork?” Kumatora objected. “Huh?”

Fuel spoke up eagerly. “Yeah! Don’t they say that teamwork makes the dream work?”

Claus shook his head. “Nothing wrong with it, I just prefer to work alone.” 

Kumatora cast downward. People weren’t normally  _ this  _ reluctant about learning PSI, but Claus? He was on a whole new level with this “lone wolf” bullshit. It was kind of infuriating, but she was sure she could work with that. She had been through worse over the last three years. 

“Man,” she said, scratching the back of her head. “Edgy much...?” 

Claus walked away.  _ Of course  _ she didn’t understand where he was coming from. But in a twisted sense, he didn’t either. Why he was saying all these things, why he preferred to work alone… it must stem from something major. But from what? It was hard to think with all these hypotheticals disturbing other parts of his mind. 

The trio glanced at each other, then back at Claus. To Kumatora, it was hard to tell what he was thinking, even when she trudged deep into the depths of his mind. The wavelengths that reprociated were just…  _ static.  _ Claus must have been thinking hard about something, then. 

Claus shivered when he felt like something, or  _ someone,  _ was violating his thoughts. He brushed it off pretty quickly though. Must be his imagination. Besides, he had other business to take care of. An insufferable, begrudging kind of business. 

  
  


“Okay! Let’s start with some of the basics!!” Kumatora started with the clap of a hand. “Question: what’s your favorite thing?” 

Now _that_ was an offtopic question. Was she _trying_ to throw him off? No use questioning it now when he could clearly see the determined look on her face. “Love… it’s love. Why are you asking this?” He already started to regret enlisting Kumatora for his help. 

“Because it’s important,” She said, and at his skepticism, she added, “oh, don’t look at me like that. Just trust me!” 

“That’s hard.” 

“Not with  _ that  _ attitude, it ain’t! Now c’mon,” She readied herself into a fighting stance, “show me what ya got!” 

What the hell was she  _ doing  _ now? She said she was going to teach him The Basics, now she’s asking him for a fight? Claus didn’t know  _ jack shit  _ about self defense! All he knew was to escape. 

“I’m sorry?” They  _ must  _ not be on the same page here. 

Kumatora gestured to herself by waving a hand. “You heard me! I want you to  _ fight.”  _

“Uhm, Kuma,” Duster said as he tugged at her sweater. “I don’t think he remembers how to do that yet.” 

Kumatora didn’t listen. She instead settled on using empty threats to get her way, like a tiger ready to pounce. “Don’t be shy! I know you can do it.” 

“Fine,” Claus said. “I accept your challenge.” He was surprised that he wasn’t shaking in his boots by then. What was with this newfound sense of security? It almost was like he was  _ confident  _ in winning. How unlike him!

“Alright then!” Kumatora rolled up her sleeves. “Let’s fuckin’ go!” 

“Go wh-”

Before anyone could predict anything else, Kumatora had already tackled Claus to the ground. Claus’ breath was  _ immediately  _ knocked out of his body, and he was sure that if Kumatora didn’t get up in five seconds, he would be dead. By a  _ single  _ blow! Pathetic of him, really. 

“Claus!?” Fuel called, who ran up to him to check his pulse. A bit extra, but Claus secretly appreciated the concern. 

Duster hauled Kumatora off of Claus. Kumatora, who still possessed a smidge of fighting spirit, easily shook Duster off. Claus was able to breathe easily again, albeit erratically. Allowing his lungs to relax again, Claus quickly muttered a “thanks.” Fuel, who continued to stand by his side, flashed a thumbs-up in response. 

“Okay,” Kumatora said with a nervous laugh, “maybe that  _ wasn’t  _ the best course of action.” 

“No kidding,” Claus rolled his eyes, focusing on his breaths and nothing else. If  _ this  _ was the regiment Kumatora planned to go for, then Claus was  _ sure  _ he’d be dead before he fully mastered the wondrous phenomenon known as PSI.


End file.
